This year, Dan Minkle's Onset property is adorned with roughly 12,000 Christmas lights. And even a few festive inflatable lawn ornaments.

“I'm not really big on the decorations," Minkle said. "I just like a lot of lights."

Decorating the house for Christmas – in a very big way – has become a tradition for Minkle.

“My mother always [decorated] when I was a kid,” Minkle recalled. His mother passed away when he was a teen. “I kind of just took over from her. I didn't have many [decorations] when I was a kid, but when I got older and had money for myself, I just kept buying more and more stuff.”

More and more stuff used to mean a higher and higher electric bill, but in recent years, Minkle has traded in his traditional Christmas lights for environmentally- (and economically) friendly LED lights. His electric bill is roughly $40 more per month during the holiday season, compared with the $200 more that he used to pay before making the switch, which means he can buy... you guessed it: more lights!

The display “just gets bigger and bigger every year,” Minkle said. “Now I have kids myself, and they love it.”

This year's display took Minkle about three-and-a-half weeks to complete. Now, his Cowgill Lane home lights up the Community of Christ campground, where most homes are unoccupied during the winter.

There's also something extra among the lights and decorations this year, inspired by Minkle's children: a barrel labeled “donations”.

Minkle is inviting the community to stop by the house, check out the lights, and drop off a non-perishable food item to be donated to Turning Point. His children, 9-year-old Daniel and 7-year-old Brandon are Cub Scouts, and will earn a badge for helping to collect donations.

Minkle and the boys have collected about five shopping bags of donations so far, which, in-turn, has sparked a new holiday tradition: the family has decided to continue to collect food donations in Christmas seasons to come.

“I hope to get bigger and bigger every year, and get more and more food every year,” Minkle said, adding that he's happy to contribute “something positive” to the community during the holiday season.

The lights will be on until just after New Year's Day. Visit 3 Cowgill Lane in Onset to see the display, and drop any donations for Turning Point in the big barrel.